Toe Dipping
28/08/09 19:47 Filed in: Writing
I dipped a toe in the water of my trial scene. I'm
very proud of myself. The thing had been intimidating
the heck out of me so I thought I'd take two steps to
get myself re-started: first, I went on the web to
see if I could find sample Crown openings for jury
trials (I could); second, I decided to proceed very
slowly, very carefully while trying to be cognizant
of what each character would be thinking, doing,
aiming for with every word.
So I wrote about 300 words of Sharon Kyle's opening to the jury. I spent some time not only on what she would say but also thinking about how she would act and what impact her words and actions would have on Phillip Gold. And there's a lot going on there.
The last time Gold saw Kyle in action in a court room, he was on the witness stand and she was tearing him to pieces. So he's feeling a little bit vulnerable and embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Gold is not very confident as a trial lawyer while Kyle is the consummate professional. He wants to watch her closely so as to learn from her as much as he can.
And Kyle is drop-dead gorgeous, a fact that is not lost on Gold (nor on any one else in the court room).
This gives me lots to think about and lots to write about.
Going slowly seems to be working. I just hope my sister will be ready to receive a draft when I'm done. I'm thinking I should probably send her it piece by piece as I go along, rather than in one big chunk. That would give her a chance to review in brief spurts, focusing on each individual aspect of the trial (are you reading this, Janice?).
On the other side of the process, I think I mentioned that I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series (surprise, surprise!) from the beginning. I have just completed the fourth and fifth books (The Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix, the first two longer novels) and was surprised to find that I have only read each of them once or, at most, twice. As a result, the movie versions were more prominent in my mind. I was delighted to rediscover how really excellent these books are, how much detail Rowling puts into them and how complex and layered the plots are.
It brought home to me, again, the deficiencies in the films. I guess I'm going to have to work hard to ensure that it is Rowling's originals, rather than the film derivations, that stay uppermost in my mind.
Anyway, back to work on Phil and Sharon, Gold and Kyle.
So I wrote about 300 words of Sharon Kyle's opening to the jury. I spent some time not only on what she would say but also thinking about how she would act and what impact her words and actions would have on Phillip Gold. And there's a lot going on there.
The last time Gold saw Kyle in action in a court room, he was on the witness stand and she was tearing him to pieces. So he's feeling a little bit vulnerable and embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Gold is not very confident as a trial lawyer while Kyle is the consummate professional. He wants to watch her closely so as to learn from her as much as he can.
And Kyle is drop-dead gorgeous, a fact that is not lost on Gold (nor on any one else in the court room).
This gives me lots to think about and lots to write about.
Going slowly seems to be working. I just hope my sister will be ready to receive a draft when I'm done. I'm thinking I should probably send her it piece by piece as I go along, rather than in one big chunk. That would give her a chance to review in brief spurts, focusing on each individual aspect of the trial (are you reading this, Janice?).
On the other side of the process, I think I mentioned that I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series (surprise, surprise!) from the beginning. I have just completed the fourth and fifth books (The Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix, the first two longer novels) and was surprised to find that I have only read each of them once or, at most, twice. As a result, the movie versions were more prominent in my mind. I was delighted to rediscover how really excellent these books are, how much detail Rowling puts into them and how complex and layered the plots are.
It brought home to me, again, the deficiencies in the films. I guess I'm going to have to work hard to ensure that it is Rowling's originals, rather than the film derivations, that stay uppermost in my mind.
Anyway, back to work on Phil and Sharon, Gold and Kyle.